Game Piece and Methods of Making and Using Same

ABSTRACT

A game piece that has a central layer and domed clear top and bottom layers is disclosed. The domed clear layers are affixed to and cover respective top and bottom faces of the central layer. The game piece also has at least one printed label that is affixed between the top layer and the central layer. The dome shape of the top and bottom layers assure that, when the game piece is resting on a gaming surface, the edge of the central layer of the piece is not in contact with the gaming surface. Methods of making and using the game piece are also disclosed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to game pieces and other tokens and methods of making and using them.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are hundreds of conventional board games that include colored counters or game pieces of some kind. There are many other games that require counters or tokens, but do not provide them, so that players are required to provide their own. Conventional game pieces, variously known as counters, tokens, or chits, may or may not be color-coded, have writing or meaningful iconography printed on them, and may or may not be stackable. Most such tokens are difficult to pick up or move, feel flimsy and are easily scattered, especially from a smooth playing surface, and most solutions that improve the graspability of the piece do so in a way that prevents the pieces from stacking, and/or otherwise compromises their utility.

Layered constructions of disk shaped counters are known. See for instance U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,376 to Valley Composite Gaming Chip. In particular, Valley discloses what he calls “Multi-layered chips” which incorporate a colored or marked paper disk that is adhesively secured between transparent layers of a secondary material. Valley also discloses a gaming chip with a permanently encapsulated insert displaying a message or design. Valley further discloses protecting the message or design with a clear overlay disk that provides attractive depth.

However, Valley's disk or chips are not multi-layered game pieces using labels that completely (or nearly so) cover a coin or central disk and are then themselves covered in a dome-shaped plastic. And they do not have a matching plastic dome on the under side of the coin so that the edge of the piece is not in contact with the gaming or playing surface.

What is needed is a token constructed so that its edge is up and away from the table or other underlying surface, so as to facilitate grasping the token. Ideally, such a token would also support variable types of writing or iconography, have adequate weight to prevent inadvertent repositioning, have some kind of surface treatment that increases friction, which would also work to prevent inadvertent repositioning, and be highly durable. Further, it should be possible for an untrained person, without any special tools, to complete the construction of the token, allowing them to source components of the token that are widely available but expensive to ship, and/or to use their own time and effort to complete construction of the tokens in order to lower the cost by having the tokens delivered to the end user in a partially assembled state.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

A highly durable, easy to pick up and stack, colorful token or game piece is disclosed. In general, a token is constructed so that its edge is up and away from the table or other underlying surface, so as to facilitate grasping the token. It also supports variable types of writing or iconography, has adequate weight to prevent inadvertent repositioning, and has some kind of surface treatment that increases friction. The surface treatment also prevents inadvertent repositioning and is highly durable. With the disclosed device and methodology it is possible for an untrained person, without any special tools, to complete the construction of the token, allowing them to source components of the token that are widely available but expensive to ship, and/or to use their own time and effort to complete construction of the tokens in order to lower the cost by having the tokens delivered to the end user in a partially assembled state.

In one embodiment a metal disk is sandwiched between two self-adhesive stickers or labels which are in turn covered in clear domes of polyurethane. The metal gives the game piece a tactile feel and heft no previously available in such pieces. Printing on the labels gives the game piece color and the preferred metalized vinyl label material itself gives them a shine not previously available. The polyurethane gives them tactility and groupability; they tend to want to removably stick to one another. Also the polyurethane does not collect dust, stains or much in the way of scratches and even resists permanent marker.

Another embodiment of a durable, easy to pick up, stackable game piece has a pair of domes fastened together at their widest points. The ‘dome’ is not spherical, but rather consists of a central zone that is flat, or nearly so, and a perimeter where the surface slopes toward the edge of the structure. This “flying saucer” shaped token thus uses the lower dome as a ‘foot,’ a structure that puts the edge of the token away from the underlying surface, greatly improving a person's ability to grasp it by the edges and pick it up, even if they have, for example, very short fingernails, large fingers, or are wearing gloves. Two-part catalytic polyurethane is an excellent substance for forming the domes, given its transparency, high coefficient of friction, and durability.

The transparency facilitates the addition of insignia, iconography, writing, or other symbols for communicating specific meaning, since the information can be printed underneath the dome, keeping it protected from being defaced via friction, as it might if it were printed on the surface of the dome.

The token is further improved if some kind of weight, such as a metal disc, is placed between the two domes. The addition of the high-density central weight allows for functional tokens at diameters far below the size at which conventional chips become effectively useless. Tokens as small as 12 mm in diameter are still eminently functional when constructed as herein described.

One methodology for creating these tokens starts with suitably prepared central weighting disks. Coin currency, such as the US penny or the Mexican 10 centavo coin, are widely available and cost effective, although steel washers or planchettes (blanks used to create coins or tokens) also work very well. It is typical but not necessary for the center weight to be circular.

The remaining components (the transparent dome and the printed layer beneath) are advantageously prepared as “domed labels” which are available from specialty manufacturers in a very wide range of sizes and shapes. These are typically made by printing onto sheets or rolls of self-adhesive vinyl with a backing carrier, which is then die-cut or otherwise scored to create individual labels of a desired shape and size. Those labels are then coated with a two-part catalytic liquid polyurethane mixture, which hardens in place, forming a clear dome.

The labels thus formed can then be removed from the carrier and applied to the central weight, attaching them to both top and bottom, thus ensuring that the token can be placed with either side upwards without compromising the functionality of the token.

Another embodiment of this invention involves painting or marking the center weight directly, and then applying the liquid polyurethane directly to the surface of the weight, allowing the dome to harden on one side before turning the token over and applying the dome to the other side. Another embodiment of this invention involves providing transparent, self-adhesive domes, which can be applied to the central weight's surface, to which a separate printed label has already been applied.

In addition to relatively flat, circular, two-sided tokens as described above, the technology can also be extended to other kinds of shapes, e.g. a cube, where each of the six faces has a domed overlay, so that the cube can rest in any of its six natural positions and still have the edge held away from the surface on which it rests.

A desirable feature of the disclosed device is a careful congruity of the size of the dome and the size of the weighting disk. By having the dome substantially or completely cover the surface of the weight, assembly of the final token is facilitated and can be done by an untrained person without any tools or equipment.

A method of making a game piece from pre-printed domed labels is disclosed. Prepare and clean the desired disk pieces. These are advantageously some kind of metal for weight and feel, desirably round, and conveniently small value coins, such as pennies Other materials, shapes and coinages can also be made to work. Materials such as plastics and wood, shapes such as polygonal or ovoid, and coins such as quarters and foreign coinage are all contemplated in this disclosure.

Prepare or purchase domed labels. Conventional domed labels are available for almost any shape, and can contain almost any printed message or symbol against almost any color or color combination backdrop. Conventional domed labels generally come in sets on a peel-off sheet. The sheet is a convenient temporary storage and transport means for the labels, and also protects the permanent press-on adhesive backing of the labels. Sheets of labels can be purchased almost anywhere, and custom sheets can also be made. One manufacturer of custom and special game piece labels is Improbable Objects (http://impobj.com/). One set of such labels comes with 8 pairs of game piece labels, each pair the same color background. This embodiment has a set of pieces in 8 selectable colors, same color on both sides, with an sequence indicating icon on one side (the nominal ‘top’ or ‘up’ side).

A set of game pieces is assembled as follows:

1. Hold the disk (such as a penny) between thumb and middle finger of one hand. 2. Remove a label from a sheet, and hold it between thumb and middle finger of the other hand. 3. Bring the label and the penny together with respective thumb/finger pairs offset so fingers slide between one another (for example at 0, 90, 180 and 270 degrees around the disk to center the label on the disk. 4. Use your index (pointer) fingers to gently press label and disk together. 5. Repeat steps 1-4 on the other side of the disk with the other pair half of the label (so one side shows an icon and the other side is blank). Alternatively apply the labels to both sides of the disk at the same time 6. Pinch the edge of the disk to seal the edge. Its not necessary to apply a lot of pressure to the center; the edge matters most.

If a label appears to be off-center or overhangs the disk at any point, the label may be carefully peeled off and re-applied. The adhesive typically supplied grows in strength over a few days and generally is not firm or unremovable until then.

The disclosed game piece may be used as follows: determining an obverse (top) and reverse (bottom) side for the game piece; determining a rank or order for each game piece based upon a printed symbol on its obverse as compared to the symbols of other game pieces in a set of game pieces; placing the game piece on a board in ranked relation to the rank order of the other game pieces on the board.

The disclosed game pieces can also be used in any game where territory has to be marked, or where life counters or damage counters or victory point counters are required. Also any game with resource tokens, and any game with a scoring track, especially were space is limited and game piece stacking is required.

The disclosed token or game piece has a central layer. The central layer has a central layer outer edge which desirably forms the game piece outer edge. A domed clear top layer and a domed clear bottom layer are affixed to and cover respective top and bottom (obverse and reverse) faces of the central layer. The game piece also has at least one, and preferably two, printed labels, the label(s) affixed between the clear top layer (dome) and the central layer and the optionally between the clear bottom layer (dome) and the central layer. The domed clear layers are such that, when the game piece is resting on a gaming surface, the central layer outer edge (or the game piece edge) of the piece is not in contact with the gaming surface. The label and domed layer are conveniently conventional domed labels sized to the central layer.

The game piece central layer is advantageously a disk of some kind and preferably a weighty material such as metal, desirably some small value coin. The label and the clear domed layer desirably both substantially cover the central layer, and preferably completely cover the central layer. Substantially means in the conventional sense of very nearly so; indeed, it is intended mainly that competitors not be able to avoid the appended claims merely by making the dome or label only slightly smaller than the central layer, with no other apparent purpose. Also to the ends of defining “substantial,” any label or dome coverage that is 80-90% or more in coverage of the central layer can be deemed substantial.

A method of making a game piece is also disclosed. The method includes the following steps.

affixing a printed label to a first side of a central layer of the game piece;

affixing a domed clear top layer over the printed label;

affixing a domed clear bottom layer to a second side of the central layer;

such that, when the game piece is resting on a gaming surface, the piece has an edge that is not in contact with the gaming surface.

Optionally in the method, before the step of affixing a domed clear bottom layer to a second side of the central layer, a second label is affixed to the second side of the central layer, and the domed layer is affixed over the second label.

A method of using the game piece in a game is also disclosed. The method includes the following steps.

determining a front side and a back side for the game piece;

determining the ranking order of the game piece based upon a printed symbol on its front side as compared to the printed symbols of other game pieces in a set of game pieces;

placing the game piece on a game board in ranked relation to the rank order of the other game pieces on the board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-3 are exploded schematic views of variants of the disclosed game piece.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Conventional domed labels are generally printed pressure sensitive adhesive labels that have a thick (i.e. 2-4 mm) dome-shaped clear polyurethane coating. They may be screen printed or digitally printed. Such labels do not show much wear as the clear polyurethane substance, even after curing (hardening), is generally self-healing. Minor scratches or cuts heal themselves and the label looks like new once again.

The coating can be applied in liquid form in many different ways, ranging from manual application via syringe to optically-guided, automated dispensing equipment. Once applied, the polyurethane liquid flows to the edge of the label and stops (due to the surface tension of the liquid), hardening into a clear dome.

A first layer is the label material. The material can be any print-industry recognized label material (from paper to many forms of plastic). The second layer is the ink. The label can be multiple colors, photo-quality graphics, or simple text. The ink is applied using screen or digital print technology. After the ink has cured (dried), the labels are sometimes laser- or die-cut or cut with a computer controlled knife blade. This device is sometimes called a plotter cutter or contour cutter. A combination printer/cutter is also used. The waste material between labels is then removed from the press sheet. The liquid polyurethane material is then applied to the labels on the press sheet and left to cure, or oven dried for a faster cure.

It is to be noted that in any discussion herein of “top” and “bottom” or “front” and “back” when referring to the token surfaces, are not positionally dependent terms, and that the token can be used in either (or any) orientation. For instance, the numismatic terms “obverse” and “reverse” might well be substituted for top and bottom. For example, on a penny, the Lincoln head is generally considered to be the obverse side, with the memorial on the reverse.

Turning now to the drawings, the invention will be described by reference to the numerals of the drawing figures wherein like numbers indicate like parts.

FIG. 1 is an exploded schematic view of game piece 10. Game piece 10 has central layer 11 which may be any shape and any material. Preferred materials and shapes are low value metal round coins such as pennies. Game piece 10 has top domed clear layer 14 and bottom domed clear layer 15 affixed to central layer 11. Domed layers 14, 15 may be any substance, but commercial polyurethane formulated for domed labels appears to work best. In between layers 14 and 11 is label 12; in between layers 15 and 11 is label 13. Labels are desirably printed on commercial vinyl label stock and digital ink printed for background color and any symbols or icons required for the labels. The label generally includes a permanent pressure sensitive adhesive backing (at 16, 17) and the generally round labels are generally die or laser cut on the label stock with the excess removed before applying the polyurethane dome material.

FIG. 2 is an exploded schematic view of game piece 100. Label 12 is affixed to top domed clear layer 14 and label 13 is affixed to bottom domed clear layer 15. On a back side (side facing central layer 11) of labels 12,13 are permanent pressure sensitive adhesive backing layers respectively 16, 17.

FIG. 3 is an exploded schematic view of game piece 110. Game piece 110 has central layer 11 and top domed clear layer 14 and bottom domed clear layer 15. In between layers 14 and 11 is label 12; in between layers 15 and 11 is label 13. Labels 12,13 have permanent pressure sensitive adhesive backing layers 16,17 respectively, and domed layers 14,15 have adhesive layers 18,19 respectively.

In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to structural features. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown, since the means and construction shown comprise preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope of the appended claims, appropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents. 

I claim:
 1. A game piece comprising a central layer having an outer edge, and a domed clear top layer and a domed clear bottom layer, the two clear layers affixed to and covering respective top and bottom faces of the central layer; the game piece further comprising at least one printed label, the at least one label affixed between the clear top layer and the central layer; the clear layers shaped such that, when the game piece is resting on a gaming surface, the outer edge of the central layer is not in contact with the gaming surface.
 2. The game piece of claim 1, wherein the central layer is a round disk shape.
 3. The game piece of claim 2, wherein the central layer is a coin.
 4. The game piece of claim 1, wherein the label and the clear domed layer both substantially cover the central layer.
 5. The game piece of claim 1, wherein the label and top domed layer are conventional domed labels sized to substantially fit the central layer.
 6. The game piece of claim 1, comprising two printed labels, one label affixed between the clear top layer and the central layer and the other label affixed between the clear bottom layer and the central layer.
 7. A method of making a game piece, the method comprising the steps of: affixing a printed label to a first side of a central layer of the game piece; affixing a domed clear top layer over the printed label; affixing a domed clear bottom layer to a second side of the central layer; such that, when the game piece is resting on a gaming surface, the piece has an edge that is not in contact with the gaming surface.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein before the step of affixing a domed clear bottom layer to a second side of the central layer, a second label is affixed to the second side of the central layer, and the domed layer is affixed over the second label.
 9. A method of using a game piece in a game, the method comprising the steps of; determining a front side and a back side for the game piece; determining the ranking order of the game piece based upon a printed symbol on its front side as compared to the printed symbols of other game pieces in a set of game pieces; placing the game piece on a game board in ranked relation to the rank order of the other game pieces on the board. 